i mean, in fact, the chinese regularly tell me, if obama would just pick up the phone and talk to kim jong un, we could solve this whole thing. >> reporter: all parties know north korea is vulnerable. it desperately needs a good harvest to feed its 25 million people - including millions who may be on the brink of starvation. that's why beijing won't ratchet up the pressure. >> the chinese don't want to cause a regime collapse. that's their number 1 nightmare scenario, really. so, by cutting off aid to that extent, they would essentially be bringing on the one thing they're trying most to avoid. >> reporter: in coming days, north korea's military will be pressed into service in their tens, or even hundreds of thousands to help with spring planting - meantime, hundreds of thousands of south koreans not the military, but ordinary people, are coming out to celebrate the springor cherry blossom festival in the capital city of seoul. people here are tired of pyongyang's threats. for them, talks for the sake of talks are a waste of time. south korean president park guen hye has warned as muc